Discover the delightful layers of mille-feuille
Mille-feuille, also known as Napoleon pastry, is a classic French dessert with a delicate and flaky texture that melts in your mouth.
Mille-feuille, which translates to “thousand sheets” in French, has been a staple in French patisseries for centuries.
The pastry is made by layering thin sheets of buttery puff pastry, baked to golden perfection, with a smooth and creamy filling of vanilla pastry cream. The pastry cream is made by cooking milk, eggs, sugar, and cornstarch until thickened and fragrant, and then flavoured with vanilla bean or extract.
Traditionally, mille-feuille is finished with a dusting of powdered sugar or a glaze of fondant icing. However, modern variations often include toppings such as fresh fruit, whipped cream, or chocolate ganache. The pastry is best served chilled and can be enjoyed as a decadent dessert or a luxurious afternoon snack.
Despite its reputation for being a complex pastry, making mille-feuille at home is relatively simple and requires only a few ingredients. However, achieving the perfect balance of flaky pastry and silky filling can be a challenge. Nevertheless, once you take a bite of this heavenly pastry, you’ll understand why it’s worth the effort.
Recipe compliments of Capsicum Culinary Studio (Chef Angelique).
Ingredients
- 400g Home-made or convenience Puff pastry
- 3 egg yolks
- 250ml milk
- 20g flour, sifted
- 50g castor sugar
- 3ml vanilla essence
- 250ml icing sugar
- 5ml water
- 5ml lemon juice
- 30g dark chocolate ganache
Method
- For the crème patisserie, Scald the milk and vanilla essence in a saucepan on the stovetop.
- Whisk together yolks and sugar. Add flour, and combine to a smooth paste.
- Temper your egg yolk mixture with the scalded milk.
- Return to a clean pot over a medium heat and stir until thickened. The mixture must reach boiling point. The flour will stabilise the mixture to prevent in from over-coagulating, however, we need to cook the flavour of the flour out.
- Pass the thickened custard through a sieve to remove any unwanted lumps.
- Allow to cool with a piece of clingwrap on the surface of the custard, pierced with a knife. This will prevent a skin from forming.
- Roll the pastry very thinly and cut out 3 rectangles.
- Weight down with a baking tray and bake at 220°C. Cool.
- Sandwich with crème pâtissière and glaze with water icing – to make the water icing just combine the water, lemon juice and icing sugar till smooth.
- Melt chocolate and pipe lines over the iced surface.
- Use the tip of a paring knife or a toothpick to create a feathered effect.
